Index Archive

29 September 2016

Currently India is preparing and has already started indirect war with Pakistan and in such a situation India's Strategic Forces Command (SFC), the entity that manages the nation's strategic and tactical nuclear weapons and decides the warheads' targets, has been without a chief for almost a month.

The SFC is one of India's top secret entities as it keeps crucial details of India's nuclear weapons. The body, hence, appoints minimum number of people and ensures a tenure of two years.

The SFC is one of the three Tri-Services Commands (TSC), the other two being the Andamans and Nicobar Command (ANC) and Headquarter Integrated Defense Staff (HQ IDS).

A TSC comprises of elements of the three defense services - Army, IAF and Navy.

The three Commands are headed by Army Commander equivalent officers from the defense services on a rotational basis with a maximum tenure of each appointment of about two years.

Until now, the Chief of Integrated Defense Staff to Chairman Chief of Staff Committee (CISC), who heads the HQ IDS, is being held by an IAF officer while the SFC was being held by an Army General and the ANC by a Naval officer. This rotation has ended.

In the upcoming rotation, the Navy has to head the HQ IDS, the IAF to take over the SFC and the army is expected to control the ANC. "The Navy has been demanding to retain the ANC, and this demand has received the approval of the Centre.

As per media reports The IAF officer who was heading the HQ IDS is scheduled to retire in the next four to five months. The IAF has flagged its officer's short tenure for the SFC head's position as the reason for its disinclination for the post as the normal tenure is that of two years
The army is now at a stalemate. If it sends an Army Commander to head the SFC for four to five months, while the IAF officer managing the HQ IDS retires after this period, a situation should not arise thereafter wherein the IAF starts demanding to take over the SFC, in view of the rotation,"